31 Days Brought Everyone Together Again
by SakuraNights01
Summary: Writing prompts for Mobtober 2017. Funny, fluffy, serious, and heartfelt themes all come together in this collection. What better way to describe the crew within Mob Psycho 100's universe?
1. And that's why it was my favorite meal

If Ritsu ever found himself in need of a quick pick-me-up, all he needed to do was simply say "curry" to Shou and watch the grimace form. In all honesty, it was his own fault, and Ritsu would remind him until the day they died.

The flame-haired kid's educational background was, for the most part, unknown. Would that stop him from interfering with his best friend's education though?

"Like hell."

"Ritsu, quit pansyin' out on me!" Shou floated upside-down in front of his dark-haired friend, who tried - hopelessly - to fill the page with text. "This metal concert is going to be amazing! What's stopping you?" Ritsu's sharp glare could've cut glass, but Shou had long since grown used to the surprisingly murderous expressions his friend could make.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe… my _homework_? Have a little consideration, you ingrate." He pushed Shou up and away from his desk so he could continue writing. He wrote all of two words before the kid slumped against his back.

"Ritsuuuuu, why're you so booooring?"

A little more than just the tip of his pencil snapped against the desk, and he bit his lip in a desperate attempt to control his anger. _Good things come to those who wait_ , Ritsu told himself, and with a sigh he turned to Shou.

"I WOULD try to use the argument that you're probably too young to get into that concert, but I know sneaking into inaccessible places is not beneath you," he pointed out, and received a hearty laugh in return.

"You know me too well!" Shou floated in the air and crossed his legs and arms, eyes closed in deep thought. "But what can I do to convince you to come? Say the word, and I'll do it!"

At this point, Ritsu almost felt bad for him. All the same, he didn't care much for music or illegal breaking-and-entering, but the offer _was_ pretty good….

"...Buy me some curry afterwards and we're even."

He began putting away his schoolwork as Shou cheered and flew about the room erratically. It was a huge sacrifice for such little payoff. But he'd had an odd spice craving as of late, and what better way to satiate it with a free meal? He'd suffer for a few hours since he was already tight on money.

* * *

An abysmal three hours later proved to be more draining than he had expected, but his weariness was nowhere near what Shou was going through. Having cheered, shouted, whooped, and done anything else anyone could do at a concert, Ritsu had to practically carry his friend to the restaurant. As it was late evening - barely - on the cusp on night, the eatery was empty, save for one or two people in the corners of the dining room. The boys ordered their meals and waited in silence.

"So, the concert was… pretty good, right?" Ritsu forced a smile onto his face. Shou lazily grinned back, debilitation seeping into his expression.

"Ohhhh yeeeaahhh… let's go again."

"No."

"Booo…." Shou folded his arms on the tabletop and laid his head on top of them. Ritsu could only stare in awe. It was the first time he'd ever seen his friend so tired before - except, of course, that one time when said friend stayed up for nearly 48 hours straight playing a damn video game. So typical.

"Shou, stay awake. It's rude to fall asleep in a restaurant." He shoved him gently, but Shou lethargically waved a hand at him. He continued poking and prodding at him until Shou actually sat up, blearily glaring at him. Now that the tables were turned, Ritsu had to admit that pestering someone was actually kind of fun.

He was about to make a snarky comment about how his face would stick that way, but their meals arrived, so he held his tongue. Ritsu was about to dig in, but noticed that Shou hadn't looked away, still glaring at him, eyes squinting as though staring at the sun. Unimpressed, he simply stared back.

"You look stupid."

Shou's frown grew a little before one corner twitched upwards slightly.

"Yeah? Well, so's your… hair…."

And like a brick falling to the ground, Shou's head dropped face-first into his curry dish. Ritsu, slack-jawed, could say nothing for several minutes. He slowly began to reach out for his friend when he had remained unresponsive, but flinched back when Shou suddenly flung himself out of his food.

"OH GOD IT'S IN MY NOSE SHIT SHIT SHIT-"

It was the hardest Ritsu had laughed in a very long time. He would remember this particular meal for the rest of his life.


	2. That belief lasted for 48 hours

He wouldn't be doing this forever, his parents assured him of that much. He wouldn't last very long in this "field", and he should just listen to them. They knew best, he should stop fooling around. He just needed to-

Reigen rubbed his face with one hand and leaned back in his chair. How depressing. Even his own parents didn't believe he could do this. Granted, a spiritual consultant and exorcist WAS a sketchy job, and unstable at best, but doing this had been his decision, and his decision alone. A little support every now and then would be nice, but the whole point of him moving all the way out to Seasoning City in the first place was to try making a name for himself on his own. Still, to be constantly degraded….

A knock on the door signified another client, breaking Reigen out of his thoughts. He pasted on his customer-service smile and greeted them.

How long had he been doing this now? Months? Years? In actuality, he'd been doing this for perhaps a year, maybe a little more, but everything was just so… mundane. His parents had urged him to be a massage therapist - he was awfully good at it, or so he'd been told. Ironically, even though he eventually settled on this line of work to get away from such a career, giving out massages was almost the only thing he was doing these days. It wasn't the first time these thoughts snuck their way in, but they never failed to drag his mood into the gutter every single time. This week in particular had him reeling.

He was going to be stuck here. Forever. In a constant cycle of trying desperately to pull himself out of this hole he had vainly labelled "normalcy". He had dreamed of doing something more, becoming a "somebody", but it seemed life had other plans. And he would continually put the face of the "helpful, cheerful spiritual consultant" on and off again until he died all alone and unaccomplished. He believed it with all of his heart.

And only 48 hours later, his life took a turn for the better.

A little kid, probably 9 or 10 years old, stumbled into his office seeking help, and he suddenly found himself with a student. A very real, very psychic student. This was exactly what he needed! Just use the kid to make a name for himself… it was so simple!

Or not.

Because time passed quickly, and it was hard to simply "use" someone after spending years with them. Someone who trusted you and followed you with such a light in their eyes deserved much better. But even after their argument, after everything they had been through, the kid still came back into his life. Like he believed in him, and was silently cheering him on, supporting him when no one else would.

* * *

"Master, wake up."

Reigen jolted awake at the sound of Mob's voice and sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Mob stood next to him at his desk, his hand lifted as though he were about to tap him on the shoulder. The entire room was bathed in an orange-ish glow, indicating the end of another work day.

"Ah… time to go home, I assume?" Reigen stood up and stretched his back, ignoring all of the popping sounds it made. Mob nodded once and gestured to the laptop.

"You fell asleep while you were-"

"Working! Yes, working very hard," he interrupted quickly.

There was suddenly a gentle look in Mob's eyes, coupled with the barest hint of a smile.  
"I know."

Reigen was really, really glad he was wrong that day so long ago.


	3. A love of art that was taken too far

Shigeo hadn't been planning to do anything in particular that weekend, so being invited on a shopping trip with Teru was a nice change of pace. Ritsu even ended up joining them, too, despite having a lot of schoolwork to do. And for good reason, it seemed, since Teru's particular taste in fashion was… different.

* * *

"Kageyama, look! This sweater has all of my favorite colors on it! It's a winner, for sure!" Teru dropped the sweater into Shigeo's hands, then led him to another rack of clothes. "Oh! Check out the bright colors on this vest! It just _begs_ for attention from people all around, don't you agree?" Ritsu felt his eye twitch as he watched the pile of gaudy clothing in his brother's arms grow larger and larger. When Teru held up a green and orange shirt with only one sleeve and praised its beauty, he felt something in him snap.

"Hanazawa, what do you think you're doing?"

Shigeo and Teru stopped what they were doing and glanced over at him. Shigeo's emotionless stare held an air of confusion. Teru cocked his hip, an easy smile forming on his face.

"What do you mean, Little Brother?"

Ignoring the annoying nickname, he held out his hand, gesturing to Shigeo.

"What is all of this crap? Why are you giving it all to him?"

"Oh, Hanazawa wanted me to try some clothes on for him. I think he said it's called 'modelling'?" Shigeo added to the conversation. Ritsu's incredulous look didn't seem to faze him, so he looked pointedly to their friend. Teru only shrugged.

"To be fair, he DID have a choice. And it's not 'crap', it's 'art'."

"'Art' my ass! He obviously didn't know what he was getting himself into!" He pointed to his clothes, neon colors blinding like the sun. "It's bad enough you're out here dressed like that! Don't force Shige into it, too!"

The blond-haired esper had the decency to look somewhat offended, and Shigeo once again cut into the conversation quickly.

"Ritsu, it's okay! I agreed to it, so it's only fair that I keep my promise."

"Nii-san…."

A disheartened and pitiful look crossed Ritsu's features, and Shigeo appeared to want to say something else, but a sigh from Teru drew their attention away.

"Very well then, Little Brother. If it'll make you feel better, I'll only have him try on one outfit. But only on the condition that you try one on too!"

"E-excuse me?!"

"Ritsu, that's great! We can look cool together, right?"

Bless Shigeo's innocence, but now was the worst possible time for it to show.

"No, no! Nii-san, this is really bad!"

Teru began to lead his older brother away, loudly saying something about finding a dressing room. Ritsu sputtered for a second, briefly considering every option available to him. He finally conceded defeat and jogged to catch up with them.

"Wait! Fine, fine, just… I'll do it. Fine."

The knowing grin from Teru was just what he needed to see to know he'd made an awful mistake.


	4. Until that point, he'd hidden his acumen

It was a simple task: watch the office until Master Reigen got back. No clients were waiting, the tea set was put away, and everything was clean. All he had to do now was finish his homework and read his manga like usual. Nothing too difficult, right?

Shigeo couldn't have been more wrong.

Within 15 minutes of Reigen leaving to take care of a last-minute errand, Spirits and Such Consultation Offices suddenly had a line out the door of clients to be helped. This didn't do Shigeo's anxiety any favors, and he could feel his inner emotional meter beginning to strain. Some people were impatient, asking him where the owner of the business was, and others were too focused on their apparent hauntings to care about the wait.

Shigeo couldn't recall the last time they had a business boom like this, and from where it came from, he would never know for sure. But he found himself in the middle of all of it and the pressure was almost unbearable. He sent a quick text message to Reigen ("It's really busy. You should come back soon.") and contemplated calling Ritsu or Teru for help, but in the meantime, he needed to figure out how to bring some order into this sudden chaotic madhouse.

 _What would Master Reigen do?_

Actually, he wasn't entirely sure what his master would do in this situation, considering he'd never had to see him deal with something like this before. He trembled as he thought through every possible solution he knew.

"...Actually, it's my first time here. Oh, it's yours too?" Shigeo heard someone in the crowd say, and he was immediately struck with inspiration.

* * *

Reigen tried to hurry back when he received the text message. He was, in short, alarmed when he saw two lines outside the office door. He pushed his way past some people, ignoring the ones who yelled at him to stop cutting the line, and entered the office hastily.

"Oh, Master, welcome back."

"M-Mob! What happened?" Reigen, still in a state of bewilderment, spoke as he stared at the two lines of people in front of Shigeo's desk. "I was only gone for like 30 minutes!"

"It got really busy all of a sudden, so I had to take care of things," Shigeo replied simply, as if this were an everyday occurrence at the office.

"When you said it was 'really busy', I wasn't expecting this! You should elaborate sometimes!"

"Sorry."

Reigen's gaze wandered down to Shigeo's desk where the two people at the front of each line were standing hunched over and writing. Two pages were sat upon it, and further inspection revealed that they were sign-in lists of sorts. Hurriedly written up in stress-filled minute, Shigeo had designated one sign-in list to be for new clients, and the other list was for clients who had been there before. Each list also had a place beside the names for phone numbers and email addresses, as well as a quick description of what they needed. As for the customers, they would either sign in on one of the lists and wait somewhere, leave to await being contacted later, or, if they were dealing with an actual spirit or haunting, Shigeo would exorcise the spirit promptly and collect proper payment for it after settling the bill.

If they weren't in the midst of a rush hour, Reigen might've fallen down in disbelief and pride at the unexpectedly brilliant acumen his student displayed. He swiftly began assisting the clients that he could help right away and made appointments for later times and dates for others.

Shigeo was treated to a large ramen dinner after work, and was even allowed to order dessert.


	5. It was what they had always dreamed of

"Are we almost there?" Shigeo panted, heaving himself up the stairs slowly. Ritsu, who barely showed even a sign of being winded, stopped where he was about 12 steps ahead of his brother. He jogged back down and took his brother's arm.

"We're really close! I can almost see the top, but we have to hurry or it'll be too late!"

Walking slower this time, he helped Shigeo up the long stairway. They were both thankful for the stairs, since they'd be climbing an old dirt hill without it, but at the same time it felt never-ending. It was only through sheer luck that their parents had allowed them to go through with this plan; Shigeo's sweet pleas and Ritsu's puppy-dog eyes combined were just enough to convince them. This was what they had always dreamed of doing, after all.

"R-Ritsu… I don't know if I can keep going… You'll have to go on without me," Shigeo managed to croak out. He stopped where he stood and hunched over with his hands on his knees, nearly sitting on the ground. Near-panicking, the younger esper looked to his brother, to the top of the stairs, and back to his brother again. After a split-second decision, Shigeo felt himself being pulled onto Ritsu's back.

"There's no way I'm leaving you behind! We've been waiting forever for a chance to do this!"

His older brother's added weight caused some strain, but Ritsu was able to haul them up about four more steps before Shigeo asked to be put back down.

"Nii-san… what about-"

"It's okay, Ritsu. I'm gonna try again, okay?"

If there was one thing Shigeo gleaned from the Body Improvement Club, it was endurance. His stamina was awful, and his muscles were sorely underdeveloped compared to his clubmates, but seeing his younger brother's determination inspired him. He sucked in a deep breath, stood to his full height, and began climbing each step one after the other, Ritsu following close behind. It was at a considerably slower pace than before, but they were moving again, and that was all that mattered.

It took them several more minutes before reaching the peak, but they had arrived just in time to watch the sunrise. They found a small bench at the top and sat down for a well-deserved rest. Ritsu handed Shigeo a water bottle and patted him on the back.

"This is incredible… What do you think, Nii-san? Is it better than you thought it would be?"

Shigeo watched as the sky seemed to quickly shift through various colors right before his eyes. He watched as the stars faded from view, and felt the wind blowing through the grass, his hair, and the clouds above.

"Yeah… it's really amazing."


	6. Taking the pressure off would be madness

Reigen had a good reason for disliking photo frames. They took up desk space and, if hung upon the wall, they were more often than not crooked or slightly off-center. Thanks to his dear mother, he had several framed pictures at home, and he didn't nitpick over them as often as he probably should. His office, on the other hand….

"It's… still a little too much to the right," Serizawa spoke quietly, standing a few feet away with his arms crossed and face scrunched up in concentration. Reigen barely tapped the top left corner of the picture frame and turned back to face him.

"How about now?"

"Um… now it's a little…."

The only photo frame in the Spirits and Such Consultation Office - hanging on the wall, no less - was slowly driving Reigen to madness. No matter how straight he managed to get it, there was always something off about it. It wasn't the frame's fault, either. Perfectly straight no matter which way he looked at it or measured it.

It had been gifted to him the day after Father's Day. A gift from Shigeo, actually, and Reigen had been incredibly touched. And confused. But touched, mostly. The photo was an amateurish selfie Shigeo had taken of himself and Reigen. Their cell phones had cameras, but the quality was awful - probably about 25 pixels for an entire photo - so his student had used a good-quality camera he borrowed from "a friend from school". The photo itself was slightly blurry from movement, and both subjects in the picture had awkward smiles and appeared worse for wear after a particularly rough exorcism job. But Reigen treasured it dearly, and wondered if he actually had any pictures of him and his student together anywhere. The frame didn't have a stand to display it on his desk as he would've preferred, so onto the wall it went.

Serizawa had been recruited to help him put it up properly and nicely, and after nearly 10 minutes of back and forths, Reigen was reaching his wit's end. He could feel the pressure in the room as he tried over and over to make it perfect, but the frame simply refused to cooperate. But as frustrated as he was becoming with this ordeal, he refused to let it show. No need to upset his newer employee, after all, though he was certain he could already sense the stress.

"Reigen-san… maybe you should leave it alone. I mean, I don't know if it's going to get any better than it is right now…"

A quick peek at the time showed that Shigeo would be coming in shortly, so Reigen sighed and tapped the top left corner one more time before stepping back to observe his work.

"Oh! That actually looks really good!" Serizawa pointed out excitedly, and sure enough, the frame looked perfect. Reigen smirked and pulled his desk chair out.

"Y'see? All it takes is a little determination! Don't let the pressure get to you, and anything is possible!"

He sat in his seat just as his student stepped into the room. Shigeo's eyes widened marginally when he noticed the photo frame hanging on the wall.

"It looks good over there, Master"

"Yeah? Thanks, Mob! And it's perfectly straight, too! Not bad, huh?"

The young esper said nothing, but his deadpan expression spoke for him. Reigen heaved a heavy sigh and turned to look at it. The moment he had sat down, the frame tilted to the right again, and very noticeably off-center now. He stared for a moment longer before standing up and ordering his employees to step back a few paces to help him fix it.


	7. They've done frightful things

Was he sure about doing this? Absolutely. Was his friend sure about doing this? Absolutely not. And yet he still agreed to do it for some reason. Maybe he yearned for thrills as much as the next person, or maybe he was just being kind enough to not disappoint. Either way, this was the scariest event of the day, and a little psyching up never hurt anybody.

"Now Kageyama, I'm not going to think any less of you if you choose not to do this. There's still time to back out, if you want." Teru almost thought it to be unfair, just how accepting Shigeo had been this entire time. They had long since split off from the rest of their group when they decided to try all of the big rollercoasters at the amusement park. When discussing what rides they were going to go on, they received some questioning and skeptical looks from their friends. It was mostly Teru's ideas, but he always ran them by his friend first. The ideas were never protested, and he even tossed in some suggestions himself.

More than once, Shigeo appeared ready to throw up, but somehow managed to keep his lunch down. Even the huge Ferris Wheel had him unsteady on his feet when they stepped off. There was an odd sense of determination here, when, upon being offered to take a rest on a smaller, more relaxing ride, it was shot down immediately. Teru was proud that Shigeo was so willing to go through with all of these rides, ones that even a lot of adults were afraid of.

This ride in particular was especially large and fast, though, and Shigeo was understandably hesitant when they approached the line. Even Teru felt a pang of anxiety, but chose not to let it show. One of them, at least, had to be strong. The dark-haired esper remained silent for the better part of the wait, but fiddled with his fingers nervously the entire time.

"Hey, remember when we were in that car, looking for Claw's hideout?" Teru suddenly asked. Shigeo didn't respond right away, but looked to his friend after a beat of silence. "You made us fly up pretty high. Higher than this coaster, I think."

"It wasn't nearly as fast, and it didn't have loops or sharp drops."

"Not until the end, anyways," he laughed. "But it was necessary for what we had to do at the time. Now, this isn't a necessity. We can always do something else, if you prefer."

They were quiet again, until Shigeo, surprisingly, broke the silence this time.

"I appreciate you trying to give me an out, but I think I would regret it if I didn't give this ride a try, too." He fiddled with his fingers a little more, then dropped them to his sides. "We have been through a lot of scary stuff, haven't we?"

"Yeah, and we've done some pretty frightful things, too," Teru pointed out. Shigeo nodded and turned his gaze upwards towards the apex of the roller coaster. A cart full of riders reached the top, paused for a moment, then descended downhill quickly, delighted screams filling the air. He turned to face Teru once again, a small smile alighting his features.

"Then this should be no problem."

Shigeo was unable to keep his lunch down after the ride was over.


	8. Hopefully, he'd stop talking soon

"Silence" was a word that did not exist in Shou's personal lexicon. "Depressed" sure didn't either, but there would have been no other way to describe him during the past day and a half. Ritsu was expecting him to turn around at any moment and prank him, telling him he'd been acting out-of-character specifically to catch him off-guard. But no, nothing of the sort had happened. His unexpectedly reserved nature had Ritsu on edge, and even Shigeo was beginning to notice it.

"You should talk to him," his brother one day suggested. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried. Shou was, unsurprisingly, very good at dodging questions he didn't want to answer. He practically danced through conversations, as though they were rehearsed or choreographed, and he knew every twist and turn. He could talk circles around others and could lead discussions in whichever direction he wanted them to go. So simply suggesting he "talk to him", while good-intentioned, was very unhelpful.

"That's the problem, Nii-san. I could try talking to him about this, but he will do anything and everything he can to avoid it." Ritsu sighed and rubbed the back of his head lightly. "I don't really know how to get him to stop running away."

"Have you tried talking to him on the phone?"

Again, very unhelpful. An odd suggestion considering the circumstances.

"I'm not entirely sure talking to him on the phone will make a difference. He could just hang up, y'know?"

"Give it a try. You might be surprised," Shigeo gave a small nod and left for his bedroom, leaving Ritsu standing in the hall wondering if his brother knew something he didn't.

* * *

The phone rang four and a half times before it was answered. Already a sign something was wrong, since Shou had an unusual habit of waiting until the third ring before answering any call.

"Ritsu~! What's up, my man?" The cheerful voice on the other side sounded normal if somewhat strained, but Ritsu chose to ignore it for now.

"Hey, uh… I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He heard a dramatic gasp.

"You're breaking up with me?!"

"W-what? No! Can you just be serious for a minute?"

"Ha ha, sorry, sorry! Okay, what did you wanna chat about?"

 _God, what an asshole_ , he thought forlornly, but bit his tongue once again. He had a feeling he'd be doing this a lot throughout their talk. _If_ they had their talk.

"...Look, you've been acting really weird lately. Like you're sad, or thinking too hard about something." He suddenly felt very small on his end of the line. "I just… want to help out. Or if not, I could even just listen while you talk. About anything."

"..."

Silence definitely wasn't befitting of the flame-haired esper, and the longer this pause went on, the more uncomfortable Ritsu felt.

"...O-or, if you want, I could talk instead, and you can just listen. Do you have a preference?"

"..."

He was running out of ideas quickly, and prayed Shou would answer at least one of his questions. He glanced about his bedroom, trying to think, when his eyes landed on his phone charger, sitting on his desk.

"What's your phone's battery percentage?" he asked suddenly. He was almost afraid Shou wouldn't answer this question either, but was surprised when he did.

"...It's at 99%, buddy."

Plenty of time to talk, then. But still, he wouldn't be a good friend if he didn't offer him a way out.

"I'm going to go ahead and talk, but feel free to interrupt whenever. And you can hang up anytime you want, okay?" He heard a rustle of cloth in the earpiece, probably his friend getting comfortable for what he assumed would be a long conversation.

"I'm all ears. Go ahead."

So Ritsu talked. He talked about school, and his work with the school council. He talked about helping Shigeo with his homework, and about his latest test grades. And though he himself didn't particularly care for it, he mentioned the latest gossip around school. Even though Shou didn't know these people, he was always interested in this sort of thing. Maybe it was just the concept of gossip itself that made him excited. He'd never know for sure.

He continued, talking about how he needed to pick up a new journal for his nightly writing, or how he was craving some fruit earlier today. Anything and everything that came to mind, he brought into the one-sided conversation. At the same time, he wondered if Shou were wishing he hadn't charged his phone before this call, hoping the batteries would run out soon and he would stop talking. But Shou made no attempts to interrupt him, hardly made a sound, even. Ritsu, after running out of things to chat about, listened for a moment.

"You still there?" There was silence for a second before another rustle of cloth could be heard.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Ritsu. You can really talk a dude's ear off, if you wanted to." Weary, but mirth could be heard in his tone. _Thank goodness, he can still crack a joke_ , Ritsu thought as a small wave of relief washed over him.

"Well, anyways… I'll let you go now, but was there anything you wanted to add to this conversation?"

"...I really appreciated the call. Cool to take my mind off of… things, for a while."

"Yeah."

They were met with more quiet once again, until Shou sighed on the other end.

"...I talked with my old man a few days ago."

This time, Ritsu remained hushed as he lent him his ear.

"He uh, said something about wanting to fix things. With me and Mom. And I guess I've been pretty torn about that lately.

"I don't really know how I should feel. On the one hand, he's a really shitty father, and I kinda don't give a crap about what he chooses to do now. But on the other hand, having both a mom and a good dad is like… a longtime dream come true. I think my feelings are a little confused, if that makes sense."

"Of course."

Again, more silence filled the air over the earpieces before Shou let out an exaggerated yawn.

"Well, I'm reeeeally tired, considering you chatted my eardrums to pieces for like, 10 hours. I'm gonna hit the sack, so… talk to ya later?"

"Y… yeah. Yeah, me too."

"Oh, and Ritsu?"

"Hm?"

"...Thanks a lot."

The phone call ended abruptly, and Ritsu glanced to the phone's screen, displaying the call time stamp: 1:33:05. Somehow, he too felt alleviated of some stress, perhaps from just talking for a long time, so different from what he normally chose to do. He made sure to thank Shigeo for the suggestion, to which he received a small smile and a short "You're welcome, Ritsu", as if he knew what the outcome would be beforehand. Shou was back to his usual, annoying self the next time they met up, and Ritsu couldn't have been more grateful for it.


	9. Although elderly he'd still win a fight

He didn't usually condone violence, but certain situations still called for it. At the very least, feints and intimidation were valid forms of combat, and he exploited them as often as he needed to. And while he COULD easily break out his martial arts skills, it really depended on who his opponent was whether or not he used them. This time, his "opponents" were just a bunch of kids. A bunch of rowdy, obnoxious, mean kids.

"Scram! And don't let me catch you picking on this kid again, you hear me?!" Reigen shouted after the group of boys who practically scrambled over each other to get away. He panted heavily, hunched over for just a moment before straightening up his posture, dusting off the front of his shirt, and turning to Shigeo, who was barely just pulling himself off the ground. "Geez, what a nightmare. Are you okay, Mob?" He inspected Shigeo for a second before continuing. "What did you do to tick them off?"

"I-I'm fine, Master. And I didn't do anything, really. I think they just thought I was weird or something," Shigeo replied quietly as he brushed off the back of his pants.

It was a mess, really. Shigeo had been heading home after his club activities per the usual since he didn't have work today, when he was stopped by three kids demanding to know what his deal was. They apparently didn't appreciate his answer when he said he had no idea what they were talking about. Reigen happened to be close by when he saw one boy push him down and the other two start kicking him. He didn't remember quite how he managed to sprint across that particularly busy intersection just in time to yank one of the kids away by the back of their collar. The rest of the story, he couldn't recall enough to relay it properly. One minute, he was seeing red and doing a fair bit of shouting, and the next thing he knew the kids were running away with their tails between their legs.

He was getting too old for exciting stuff like this.

Even after this resolution, though, Shigeo still looked moderately disturbed by the situation, holding his chest and abdomen that were more than likely bruising up by now.

"Are you sure you're okay? I saw those punks get a few good kicks in there." Shigeo didn't respond to the question, just rubbed at his chest absently, appearing deep in thought. Reigen shifted in place for a minute, contemplating his next words before speaking again.

"You're not supposed to use your psychic powers against other people," he started, then continued quickly when Shigeo opened his mouth to say something, "But! But, it's okay to use your powers to _defend_ yourself. As I said before, psychic powers are just another part of you. It's okay to use them to shield yourself from injuries like that." The teen's hands slid down to his sides, brow still slightly furrowed from being deep in thought.

"I kept a thin layer of power over me this time. It still hurt, but I heal quickly." Reigen guessed that his student was upset that his powers had been used at all, rather than the situation as a whole. He sighed and ruffled Shigeo's hair.

"You're fine, Mob. You did really well. I won't always be around to pull you out of a pinch, but today we just so happened to be lucky."

"Thank you for helping me, Master." Shigeo's voice was appreciative and bright in contrast to his neutral expression. He fixed his hair and picked up his school bag.

"Well, you interested in joining me for a bit? I've gotta pick up a couple things from the store, but you can grab something too, if you'd like."

Shigeo agreed to join him and appeared unconcerned otherwise, but Reigen couldn't help but keep a watchful eye on his surroundings for the duration of their trip.


	10. She chose to ignore it

Ichi Mezato took her job as the school's journalist photographer very seriously, and sometimes ended up in mildly dangerous situations. Or rather, what could be considered mildly dangerous. Somehow, she had good luck and never sustained injuries that were too terrible, so, more often than not, she took greater risks for that perfect shot.

"Mezato-senpai, what are you doing?" a small voice called out from down below her perch in a tree. She drew her attention away from the fantastic view and down to Shigeo. Mob, whose neutral face displayed an emotion akin to concern.

"Hey, Mob. Just look at this sunset! I can get a great shot of the whole school like this," she fiddled with some buttons on the back of her camera as she spoke. "Wanna come up and see?"

"I… no, it's really dangerous up there, you should come down." Mezato appeared surprised, but laughed a little.

"Yeah, maybe it's kinda dangerous up here, but I can't get a good shot from the ground." Shigeo shifted from foot to foot nervously, looking down at his feet. She sighed when he didn't reply right away. "I'll come down as soon as I get this picture, okay? Just gimme a second."

"B-but the branch you're standing on looks weak… I think it's going to break…."

He wasn't wrong. The branch kept trembling strangely under her feet every time she moved. He was definitely right, but she absolutely could not miss this opportunity.

"Just… a little bit more…."

Mezato shifted further away on the branch slowly, camera outstretched and at the ready.

"Mezato-senpai!"

Shigeo's startled cry was all she heard before the world fell out from below her with a tremendous _crack_. Instinctively, she slammed her eyes shut and screamed, expecting an eruption of pain any second. But instead, her body was enveloped in a warm, tingling feeling, and the air stopped moving so quickly around her. A second later, she heard a rustle and everything became quiet. She took a chance and cracked an eye open only to find Shigeo standing in front of her, poised as though approaching a wary animal, and herself sitting safely on the ground.

"W-wait, did you-"

"Mezato-senpai, are you okay?"

A short distance away, she could see the branch she had previously been standing on, now broken in pieces on the ground. Grimly, she thought that could've been her too right now, had it not been for….

"...I'm okay. But what just happened?"

"It looks like this pile of leaves cushioned your fall. Be more careful next time."

At that, Shigeo straightened up and turned, leaving a little too quickly, but Mezato knew when someone was lying. Rather than pursue him with her line of thinking, though, she thought it best to repay him for saving her life by not mentioning it at all, the way he'd probably want her to.


	11. It was then he began to feel superfluous

It was strange in a funny and odd sort of way to listen to the Kageyama brothers formulate a plan. Controllers in hand, their newest video game required stealth, sharp-shooting, and skill, and though Ritsu usually won the rounds, Shigeo was unexpectedly good at these sorts of games as well. Team battles proved to work to their favor the best, and it was entertaining to watch a plan they'd made come to fruition.

So why, then, was Teru invited here?

He wasn't used to the feeling of being left out, yet here he was. They sat on the couch together, having invited their blond-haired friend over to play with them. Today's game hadn't started yet; the menu screen was displayed on the TV, title music looping over and over quietly, while the brothers discussed the battle plan with fervor. Teru remained quiet as he listened to the banter, eyes jumping between each brother as they spoke and offered up ideas to one another.

"We could run in and flank them this way, don't you think?"

"Yes, but it might be better to take cover and ambush them when they enter the tower in the Southeast for the loot drop."

"Ah yeah, that does occur about two minutes in, doesn't it?"

"Right right, but they may be expecting it, too. We should come up with a counter in case they retaliate."

"True, something similar happened a couple days ago…."

Teru took in all of the back and forths that he could before he huffed and placed his controller on the coffee table.

"Well, it sounds like you guys have this in the bag, so… I think I'll just spectate, this time around."

He definitely wasn't expecting the alarmed looks from the brothers sitting on either side of him.

"Hanazawa… you're not going to play? Shigeo asked after a moment, voice holding a hint of dismay. Ritsu narrowed his eyes as he leaned in closer.

"You have the most important job! You can't just bail on us like that!"

It was Teru's turn to be surprised. They hadn't once mentioned what he was supposed to be doing in all of this.

"And what, pray tell, would that job be?" Teru crossed his arms as he returned Ritsu's incredulous look, hoping his message got across. Shigeo shifted a little in his seat, getting his attention.

"You see… we play this game online, and recently gained a… rival team, of sorts."

"Yeah! They're really good, and we've got a tie going on," the younger brother added. Teru stared in awe, glanced at the screen, then back to Shigeo.

"You guys are a two-man team though… are you telling me you've been holding your own against a full five-person team by yourselves?" Shigeo nodded enthusiastically.

"Ritsu is really good at this game! I'm alright with support, and most of the time it's enough, but…."

"But recently, they've started pulling some dirty tricks to get one over us. So we thought to bring a secret weapon to this round!"

"...Am I to assume that I'm this 'secret weapon'?" Teru pointed to himself, confusion still evident on his face. Ritsu placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes! So you can't just back out like that. We need you to do some sniping from the rooftops and building corners while we infiltrate their bases from the ground levels."

He picked up his controller from the coffee table and sat back, still a little off-put by being left out of the conversation until now.

"Would've been nice if someone had mentioned this to me before, though."

"Sorry, Hanazawa." Shigeo somehow made the situation much more sad when he of all people appeared apologetic, so Teru quickly waved off the concern with a light smile.

"It's fine, it's fine! Well, if you two have finished planning, why don't we get started?"

Despite the other team cheating again, Shigeo, Ritsu, and Teru worked well together and ultimately won the battle, breaking the tie in their favor.


	12. Her reaction left him agog

He'd seen her turn people down before. People would confess their love to her or ask her to hang out with them, but every single time, without fail, the answer was always "no".

It stood to reason that he would be nervous, then. Rejection was so clearly on the horizon, yet he still clenched and unclenched his fists with determination and fear.

 _Why me? Why me..?_

Shigeo hadn't told anyone what he was going to do. No sense in getting people worked up, since this was only going to end disastrously, though the extra support would be nice. He suspected Ritsu might be aware of his plan, though - he was incredibly perceptive like that. While this was one of the toughest things Shigeo ever had to muster up the courage to do, it could, from an outsiders point of view, be seen as a very simple and reasonable request.

 _Ask Tsubomi to eat lunch with him._

It was almost absurd how much fear laid within this question. But given what he already knew about her and what he'd seen done to others, what were the odds of this falling into his favor?

Still, there she stood chatting with her friends in the hallway between classes like she normally did. Shigeo spent the better part of the week psyching himself up and rehearsing what he was going to say. There was no particular reason for it all, he just thought it would be a great opportunity for them to rekindle the old friendship from their childhood (and maybe more, but that was wishful thinking).

Shigeo stayed a short distance away, trying not to seem too obvious that he wanted to speak to her. His knees felt like jelly, and he was positive the dread in his stomach would come up in the form of bile. Trying to force oneself to maintain composure was easier said than done, if the near-hyperventilating and sweaty palms were any indication. He'd only been there for a few minutes before his brain screamed that this was a terrible idea. He turned quickly to leave, but painless escape, it seemed, wasn't an option.

"Oh, Mob-kun! Wait!" Tsubomi called out, bidding her friends a short farewell. Shigeo stood frozen in place, his back still facing her. If his shoes had been cemented to the ground, it wouldn't have made a difference since he couldn't bring himself to move anyways. She jogged over and stood in front of him, hands clasped behind her back. "I saw you standing there, sorry about that. Did you want to ask me something?"

In that moment, everything he had rehearsed - everything he had prepared for - was gone in a flash. It would be a miracle if he were able to even formulate words to say at this point.

"T-Tsubomi! I-I uhh, I didn't um… see you… there!"

 _Smooth, real smooth._

She only tilted her head slightly, still smiling brightly.

"W-w-well, I just thought… m-maybe… well, if you weren't b...busy… or if you are! If you are, it's ok-kay, but I thought if you were… interesting- _interested_! You could…."

He felt like the entire world had stopped to stare at him as he stumbled over his words. The heat in his face was almost unbearable. But Tsubomi remained silent, patiently waiting for his question, and somehow, he felt the tiniest fraction better knowing that he wasn't being rushed. At least, he _hoped_ he wasn't being rushed. A voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Reigen told him to "take a deep breath and get to the point", so he did just that.

"W-will you… have lunch with me sometime..?"

And there it was. His burdening question was out in the open, like he'd just painted a huge target on his back and everyone was readying their arrows. He bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he awaited his judgement and, ultimately, his death, only praying it'd be swift.

"Sure."

"Oh, that's okay, s-sorry for botheri- HUH?"

His head snapped up and he met her bright smile again. Blinding like the sun, she was so beautiful he must've been distracted and didn't hear her correctly.

"I said 'sure', Mob-kun. Want to meet up here at the same time tomorrow?" Tsubomi rocked back on her heels slightly as she spoke, as if this were the easiest thing to do.

"U-uh-huh… that's good, that's okay…."

"Great! See you later then!"

And with that, she strolled off, continuing her day as usual. Shigeo, on the other hand, was still petrified from disbelief at what had just happened. Why did she turn down all of those other guys and say yes to him? Him, of all people? He, who has no talents and nothing extraordinary compared to everyone else… why? And she had given him an answer with no hesitation… he couldn't help but wonder if it meant something.

It WAS just a lunch date (emphasis on "date"), but it was a step in the right direction. When Shigeo finally found the strength to move again, he felt as drained as though he had just finished running with the Body Improvement Club and yet oddly filled with energy at the same time. Like he could collapse at any moment, but also fly if he willed himself enough to.

Her answer definitely left him agog, but he, smartly, chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth.


	13. Little things mattered a lot to them

Shigeo didn't quite understand the Telepathy Club sometimes, but he did find them amusing. Or rather, some of their conversations/arguments were amusing.

"Saruta! I was saving those chips for last!"

"President, there's tons more over here…."

"Yeah, but that was the last of the barbecue flavored ones!"

"Are you _sure_ you're not cheating?"

"I promise."

"Then how come you're winning every single round? I don't understand how that's possible!"

"Maybe you're just that bad at this game, Inukawa."

A lot of their conversations went on in a similar manner. It was clear that they were all very close friends, despite picking at each other for the most mundane of things. Yet in spite of all of this….

"Mob! You passed out again? Are you alright?"

"Honestly, you're pushing yourself way too hard. Don't forget to take a break every now and then."

"Here, have some water. Don't pass out on us again, okay?"

"Be more careful next time! Fainting is scary, you know?"

Shigeo reminded himself that they were also his close friends, and they really cared. Passing out while running seemed to be such a small thing to worry about, but then again, little things seemed to matter an awful lot to them.


	14. They were out at last But now what?

It took only a few minutes for Reigen to realize that they had only narrowly avoided being absolutely fucked.

He had to give that evil spirit some credit, though: it really did a number on the place, and it took Shigeo several tries before it was fully exorcised. What he wasn't expecting - which, in hindsight, he probably should've seen coming - was for the spirit to make a last ditch-effort to kill them by destroying two of the main supporting beams in the building. The building was already borderline ancient and tremored violently after just one beam was taken out. After the second one was gone, Reigen had blacked out, but it didn't take a genius to realize what had happened next.

When he came to, he was in the same position he was in when the roof caved in. The moment debris began to fall, he'd grabbed Shigeo, held him tight, and hit the deck. Surely it had only been a few minutes, as indicated by the dust still settling all around them, but he felt as though he'd been asleep for hours, groggy and heavy-headed. He lifted his head slightly and checked their surroundings, finding that another beam had fallen diagonally against the wall above them, preventing them from being crushed entirely. The room was dark, but enough light filtered through some cracks and holes, giving them just enough visibility. That much being established, he turned his attention to his student underneath him.

And found Shigeo on the verge of a full-on panic attack.

"Mob, whoa whoa whoa! Take it easy!" Reigen's voice sounded horribly hoarse and he found himself coughing after nearly every other word. The trembling, hyperventilating, wide-eyed kid only seemed to grow more anxious. "It's no time to panic… just take a deep breath for me, alright?"

Attempting to calm his student down while taking control of the situation at the same time was proving to be an undertaking. He could feel the ground shaking slightly, as though there were a steadily growing earthquake coming their way. At this rate, the detritus directly above them could collapse further and completely bury them. If he could just get through to him for a second….

But perhaps the source of the boy's fear wasn't from what had just happened, but rather what had become of their present situation. Reigen figured that out quickly when he tried to pull himself up to sit but found he was physically unable to. His right leg - everything just below his knee - had been pinned under a large, heavy chunk of rubble, and it wouldn't budge an inch. Worse yet, he couldn't even _feel_ his limb under it. He turned his gaze back to Shigeo, who was staring intently at Reigen's hairline. Two drops of blood spattered onto his face, and it was then that he knew what exactly had his apprentice so shaken up. Until that point he hadn't noticed it thanks to an increasingly pounding headache, but now he felt a sharp tingle of pain on top of his head. More than likely just a scratch, he assumed, but the blood trailing down his face could've fooled anyone.

"Mob, listen to me very carefully. I need you to try your best to calm down." He pointed to wreckage crushing his leg into the ground. "I'm kinda stuck here and can't move. You're the only one who can get this thing off of me, and once you do, we can work together to get out of here." His voice was surprisingly steady despite their current position. Shigeo's unblinking eyes were still glazed over, but he gave the barest hint of a nod in return. He raised his right hand, still quivering with anxiety, and slowly lifted the debris up and away from them. A wave of relief and a blast of pain hit Reigen all at once, and he bit his tongue until he tasted metal to prevent himself from cursing in front of him. It took several minutes before he was able to breathe without feeling like he was going to faint again. At the very least, his leg probably wasn't smashed into dust, as it could still be moved only the tiniest amount right now. With more mobility at his disposal, he tenderly pulled himself into an awkward sitting position, freeing Shigeo and allowing him to sit up as well. His student instantly huddled in on himself, squeezing his knees to his chest and staring vacantly at his still shaking hands before burying his face into them.

"What… what have I done..?" his voice started out small, but Reigen could already sense the rising apprehension. He sighed and relaxed a little where he sat.

"Mob… it's okay. We lived, right?"

"I… what've…." His hands moved to the top of his head and grasped at his hair. He pressed his forehead to his knees and his whole body began to quake.

"Mob?"

He was not prepared for the dam to break so violently.

" _ **What have I done?! What have I done?! God, I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop it in time! I couldn't-!"**_ Shigeo began wailing in an almost trancelike manner, freaking Reigen out and shattering almost all of the control he'd gained over their situation.

"Shit-! Mob, Mob! It's okay! Hey, can you hear me? Stop that!" He scrambled over and grasped Shigeo by the shoulders, halting his self-deprecating tirade. "Everything is alright! You did very well, and the evil spirit is gone! Relax!" The esper didn't respond, as though he hadn't heard him in the first place. His hair waved about gently but ominously, and he continued quietly sobbing and muttering to himself. The ground and wreckage all around them trembled with increasing fervor, and an intense pressure began to settle in the air. If he didn't figure out a way to calm him down, then they really were going to die here. Reigen decided he wasn't about to let that happen.

In an action not unlike he'd done before, he slapped both palms sharply to each side of Shigeo's face and yanked upward, forcing him to look Reigen in the eye.

"LISTEN TO ME," he commanded, and Shigeo, though tears still ran down his face, couldn't avert his gaze even if he tried. "This," he started, pausing for emphasis, "is not your fault. Not one ounce of this is yours to blame. You did your job. You did a great job, and you saved our lives. Be PROUD of that.

"But I want- no, I _need_ you to focus now. You are our only chance to make it out of here, but you must do exactly as I tell you. Do you understand?"

Shigeo stared in awe a brief moment longer before nodding slowly, his trembling all but ceased. The environment around them had calmed down greatly, and Reigen felt like he could breathe easier again, though the stress had only exacerbated his headache to the point he felt like throwing up.

"Good." He released him and sat back in a more comfortable position, wincing once when he jostled his leg a little too much. "Then I'm gonna have to collapse this side of the building." The esper, who had only just begun rebuilding his composure, startled at the abrupt suicidal statement.

"M-Master! What are you saying?" Reigen, as though expecting this reaction, simply pointed to the diagonal beam above their heads.

"There are holes and openings all over the place above us, while the other side of this disaster is completely dark. My guess is that when this place crumbled to hell, the majority of it fell to the other side thanks to this sturdy beam here." He shuffled closer to Shigeo and readied his uninjured left leg. "I'm going to kick this beam down and release all of the stuff it's holding up. All you have to do is put up a barrier to prevent us from getting crushed in the process. Okay?" Reigen had no doubts that, on a normal day, his student could easily move all of the debris away from them. But after what had just happened, after what he had just seen… no, he refused to put him through any more stress than necessary. He himself would take on the frightening part of this job now, and let Shigeo do what he does best this time. The teen appeared unsure, looking between his master and certain death hanging within proximity. But after mulling it over for a minute or so, he took a deep breath and steeled himself up, hands beginning to glow with power.

"I'm ready."

"Atta boy. Now, let's get outta here, huh?" Reigen smiled reassuringly and wrapped an arm around Shigeo's shoulders. Then, tensing up for a second, he kicked the bottom of the beam out with all of his might.

No words could easily describe the cacophony and chaos that suddenly surrounded them. The crashing and destruction was catastrophic and deafening, at best, and all he could do was shut his eyes, hold the kid close, and pray that this plan worked out okay. When all went silent, they were still for a moment before they dared to peek at their surroundings. The broad daylight was nearly blinding, and they sat up straight to regain their bearings. Reigen released Shigeo and whistled quietly at the debris piled up everywhere. In an almost perfect circle around them, sure destruction had neatly avoided them. Reigen's shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Good job, kiddo. You did perfect." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cellphone, dialing a number with shaky hands and clearing his throat. "...Hello? Heeey, I'm gonna need some help, here. I've got a kid with me, and we've got some injuries that need attending… no, we're just outside the city limits, next to the border… you've got my location? Great, then we'll see you shortly." He snapped the phone shut and just barely dropped it back into his coat pocket before falling forward entirely. Shigeo only just managed to catch him before he hit the ground, releasing a shocked yelp.

"Master! Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah, Mob. Jus' gonna… sleep for a couple minutes. Help will be here soon, but I'll have to let you do the talking this time. Sorry 'bout that."

No longer simply pounding, his head was now in a perpetual state of static and great pain. He heard his student saying something else with increasing volume - in that same tone he took whenever he was worried or upset, he noted - and felt himself mumble a response, but all comprehension had failed him, and everything faded away when he finally closed his eyes.


	15. We couldn't fit anymore in if we tried

The gentle "mews" and rustling about in Shigeo's jacket caught Ritsu's attention immediately. He sighed a put his book down on his lap.

"Nii-san, why do you have a bunch of kittens tucked in your clothes?" Shigeo froze in place and slowly turned to meet Ritsu's gaze. He cocked an eyebrow when his older brother shuffled over and sat on the couch beside him, unzipping his jacket only a little so he could look. Dark on the inside, all he could really see was a massive wall of fluff wiggling around.

"They were outside in a box, and it was cold out. I… didn't have the heart to just leave them there." Although they were cute, Ritsu was unimpressed yet unsurprised at his brother's thoughtful, not-thought-out plan.

"Mom and Dad aren't going to let us keep them, you know. There's too many, and Dad's allergic, remember?" he pointed out, and Shigeo's frown deepened. "And why stuff them into your jacket? Wouldn't it have been easier to just carry the box home?" At that moment, two fuzzy kittens poked their heads out from the opening in the top of the jacket and crawled out, nearly tumbling to the ground until Ritsu caught them just in time.

"There were too many, and the box wasn't big enough to hold all of them." His voice displayed regret for their situation, but his face showed pleasure at the idea he'd had to carry all of them home as well as keep them warm at the same time. Another kitten tried wriggling free while three more were attempting to push their way out from the bottom,

"Geez, how many of these do you have in here?" Ritsu exclaimed, finally resorting to using his powers to catch the three that had finally escaped and were heading for the edge of the couch.

"There's 9 or 10 of them in total. They kept moving around while I was trying to count them, so I'm not really sure." The younger brother gaped at him as two more kittens tried to make their grand escape.

"That is A LOT of cats. What were you planning to do with them once you picked them up?"

"I'm… well, I don't know. But for now, at least, I wanted to make sure they were warm and fed."

His older brother had a big heart, for sure, but his big heart had a tendency to cloud his better judgement sometimes. Still, how could he blame him? They _were_ really cute, after all….

"...Maybe Mom will let us keep one," Ritsu suggested after some more thought, to Shigeo's delight. His defensive wall had been crumbled to pieces by the fluffy, soft little creatures in their laps.

Their happy daydream came to an abrupt halt when they heard their parents come home and their dad immediately began sneezing.


	16. Separating them was the only choice

"W-what kind of an evil person would do such a thing..?" Ritsu remarked. He could do nothing but stare at the abomination that lay before them.

It was bad enough, in Ritsu's opinion, that he was asked to accompany Reigen and Shigeo on an exorcism job instead of being at home like he preferred. But there were no words to even begin describing the horror he witnessed. Shigeo said nothing and only watched, polite as he was, and Reigen appeared unimpressed as usual.

"I don't really know what you're complaining about. It wouldn't kill you to, you know, mix it up a little from time to time," Reigen responded, and continued pouring skittles and M&Ms into one bowl. Ritsu grasped at his own hair in shock and horror.

"Mix it up? MIX IT UP? You're insane!" Ritsu gestured wildly to the bowl on the desk. "What made you think that this was even remotely okay? You don't just… mix skittles and M&Ms!"

"I don't know, Ritsu. It might actually be alright," Shigeo commented quietly, to Reigen's delight.

"Yes! Two against one! Thanks, Mob!"

"Nii-san, don't _defend_ this! It's a crime against nature!"

"I-it is?"

Reigen set the bags aside and laced his fingers together, propping his chin atop them.

"Hey now, you might actually start hurting my feelings, Mob's Little Brother. Don't knock it until you try it."

"It's _Ritsu_ , and I'll do more than just hurt your feelings, you sorry excuse of a-"

"Wait," Mob interjected before the conversation could get worse, "Why don't we just separate them? We could have both on the desk, and neither of them will be touching one another."

"Fantastic idea, Nii-san! It's something a _logical_ person would do!" Ritsu shot a pointed look at Reigen, who held his hands up in defense.

"Fine, fine. But I'll leave the separating to you, _Mob's Little Brother_ , since you're so bent out of shape about it." He winked slyly at Ritsu before getting up and pacing to the other side of the room, ignoring the boy's withering glare.

"Ritsu, look," Shigeo's voice sounded from the other side of him. He turned just in time to see his brother bravely take a handful of the sinful mixture and stuff it into his mouth.

"NII-SAN, NO!"


	17. It's one of the more salubrious examples

Above all else, Reigen valued cleanliness. He couldn't speak much for his own home, in that it could use a good spring cleaning, but was otherwise acceptably neat. His office, on the other hand, was like a prized possession of his, like a trophy that received its daily polishing, whether it needed it or not. Everything was orderly and put in place properly, just the way he liked it. It had to be presentable to clients, after all.

It wasn't always this way, he was loathe to admit, but it was true nonetheless. Smoking inside was a regularity, and he put much less attention to making sure _every_ book and paper was put away before leaving for the day.

It was thanks to Shigeo's sudden presence that changed all of this. With the addition of a kid around the office, Reigen found himself almost childproofing everything (it was the closest activity he could compare it to), despite not needing to. Every crumpled paper made it into the wastebasket. Every book was neatly placed in the bookshelf, and not sitting on the floor or on the corner of a desk where it could fall off and trip someone. His own habitual smoking in the office had come to a complete halt, stepping outside to take a break only when absolutely necessary. And he had no trouble telling particularly messy clients to "pick up their belongings and trash" when they left. He had even started integrating some of his plants from home into the office, to give it a more "homelike and healthy" appearance.

Shigeo was very good about keeping his workspace neat. It wasn't unusual for his desk to become cluttered and the mess to spread out, but at the end of each day, all of his school supplies were safely tucked away, as if they were never out and about in the first place.

It took Serizawa some getting used to, on the other hand. In fact, Reigen almost had to train him to understand that it was okay to touch things and walk on the carpet with his shoes on. He practically had to drag the man inside on his first day of work. And that one day when Serizawa had dropped and broken a teacup on the ground and nearly cried, Reigen had to give kudos for this guy's consideration.

All in all, it was certainly one of the more salubrious examples of this kind of establishment. He liked to consider this to be among one of the most positive aspects of the office, and put in 110% to keep it that way.

"Ah… you dropped another teacup? No, no, it's okay. That's why I keep spares around. Just relax, alright?"


	18. It's a tiny issue but a lot rested on it

Teru stared at his reflection, brow furrowed in concentration. His reflection glared right back at him. He'd been having this odd staring contest for nearly 15 minutes before Ritsu shouted something about them running late already and to hurry up. Teru finally threw his hands up and groaned loudly in frustration. There was _no_ way he could go out like this.

"Hanazawa, is everything okay?" Shigeo approached him first, Ritsu following closely behind. While the older brother's face held a subdued air of concern, the younger appeared somewhat cross for their current situation. Teru, almost pitifully, draped himself on Shigeo's shoulder, dialling up the drama just a notch.

"Kageyama, it's awful! Simply awful! I can't go out, not like this!"

Shigeo, surprised by the sudden contact, hesitantly patted his back. Ritsu only rolled his eyes at the pathetic display.

"A-are you hurt? What's wrong?"

"It's… it's..."

"...Yes?"

"It's my hair, Kageyama, my hair!" Teru gestured to the few locks of hair that normally framed his face ever-so-perfectly. Shigeo stared for a moment before nodding slowly, still not quite understanding the issue.

"THAT'S what you've been fussing over for nearly 20 minutes? Give me a break!" Ritsu pried Teru off of his brother, then stood back and crossed his arms.

"You just don't understand! My hair grows way too fast… already, this side it 2cm longer than the other side… it looks awful." Teru hung his head in shame, and Shigeo stepped a little closer.

"Maybe I could help?"

Ritsu couldn't help the chortle that escaped him at his brother's innocent offer.

"Yeah, Hanazawa, let Shige cut your hair. He did an absolutely stellar job last time." Teru shot up and he backed away a few paces, hands covering the top of his head protectively.

"Y… you're too kind, Kageyama, but I think it'll be okay! I'd been meaning to visit a stylist for a trim, anyways!" Shigeo glanced at Ritsu in confusion, but only received a small grin and a shrug.

"Well, why not wear a hat, then? I heard it's going to be hot today, anyways," Shigeo offered kindly. Teru's defensive grimace morphed into a bright smile at the thought.

"A fantastic idea! Thank you! I know just what to wear!"

It took everything Ritsu had not to slap the guy for wearing such a bizarre and stupid-looking hat on their shopping trip.


	19. Nothing could hold him back, except this

The best description of it that Shigeo could come up with is "an esper's version of sleepwalking".

It rarely ever did occur nowadays - more often when he was a child. But every once in awhile, much to his chagrin, he would use his powers and make himself float in his sleep. Upon awakening, though, he would fall to the ground immediately, as though he'd been floating in a bubble that suddenly popped.

This wouldn't normally be too bad, but on his sleep, similar to sleepwalking, he'd travel around the room. This was one of the few reasons why Shigeo chose to keep his bedroom door closed at night, but once when it happened in his childhood, he'd gone right out the open window. Thankfully, a particularly cold breeze woke him up and he landed safely on top of a tree. It had taken a bit of trial and error to get down. A few scratches, cuts, bruises, and his father's help later, he swore he'd never leave the window open at night again.

Vivid and/or intense dreams often caused him to use his powers in his sleep to move his furniture around, but he couldn't pinpoint where the "sleepwalking" was coming from. He was grateful this was a more uncommon occurrence now that he was still older, but it was unpredictable, and he hated that it still did happen.

Ritsu had long since grown used to hearing strange noises and bumps against the wall of his brother's room from floating furniture. His pulse quickened, though, when he heard several loud bangs in rapid succession. He considered it for a moment before pulling himself out of bed, grabbing a flashlight, and walking to the room next door.

He placed an ear against the door, listening intently to see if his brother could possibly be awake (though he seriously doubted it). He called out to him once for good measure before pushing the door open.

Immediately, he leapt aside as a pillow sped by in midair. He glanced in to find his brother practically face down upon the ceiling. At the very least, he was stationary for the time being, but Ritsu was certain this must be another "sleepwalking" case. He couldn't remember the last time it had happened, nor did he remember how it had been resolved. Clearly, Shigeo didn't like to talk about it whenever it did happen, so there was a good chance one occurred recently and Ritsu simply had no idea.

"Nii-san-" he started, but stopped himself. Was it safe to wake him up when he was like this? He'd heard it wasn't a good idea to wake up a sleepwalker, but those were cases reserved for regular, non-psychic people. For his brother's case, Ritsu, rather guiltily, feared that making a mistake would mean coming face-to-face with that… entity, again.

A gentle moan from his brother shook him from his thoughts and he hesitated before taking a step forward into the bedroom, now dangerous by the fast-flying furniture.

He somehow made it to the center of the room - directly below Shigeo - without getting injured by debris. Furniture still flew by very close to him, yet they somehow only bounced off the walls a few times. He stepped aside as a dresser drawer nearly bumped into him, and he glanced up to his brother, seemingly unperturbed by the activity.

"N-nii-san, wake up…" Ritsu whispered as loudly as he dared, not wanting to wake up their parents and cause a scene. He jumped up to try grabbing the back of his shirt, but his fingers only grazed the edge of it. He cursed himself inwardly for not practicing his kinetic abilities more - if he tried making himself fly up there, he was sure to end up face down against the ceiling, too. Instead, he flexed his powers in one hand and reached a few small tendrils upwards to pull his brother down. The moment his powers touched Shigeo, a wave of power, much like a shockwave, burst outward and slammed all of the floating objects around the room against the walls. Ritsu was blown off his feet and landed near the door, gasping loudly when he impacted the ground.

This sound, considerably quiet compared to the bangs and thumps that could be heard from Ritsu's room, was apparently enough to wake Shigeo with a start. In an instant, the objects that had been trapped against the walls clattered to the ground, and Shigeo landed roughly on his back onto his futon. He groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his lower back, then glanced about his room in confusion. When his eyes landed on Ritsu, just sitting up himself, his face was crossed with horror.

"R-Ritsu! Are you alright? Did I… did I hurt you..?" He had crawled frantically to Ritsu's side, hands waving about uncertainly, unsure where to begin checking for injuries. "I-I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Ritsu! I did it again, didn't I? I didn't mean to, honest-"

"Nii-san, it's okay. I'm not hurt," Ritsu quickly cut in, giving him a reassuring smile. "You were asleep, and you didn't hurt me, I'm fine."

"...Are… are you sure..?"

"I'm positive." Ritsu stood up and dusted himself off, then helped Shigeo up too. "We're lucky Mom and Dad didn't come running, what with all the noise that was going on in here. It'd be bad if they woke up in the morning and saw this mess, though, so let's clean up and go back to bed, okay?"

"O-okay… thank you."

Ritsu began pushing the dresser upright and Shigeo, though still hesitant to move after what had just happened, joined in and helped tidy up.


	20. He's a clever person, but malfunctioning

Of all the people Shigeo had the honor and pleasure of knowing in his life, Reigen Arataka was perhaps the most quick-witted, clever person of them all. Somehow, he always seemed to know exactly what to do or say in any given situation, and he aspired to be as silver-tongued as him someday.

What he didn't quite understand, however, was his reaction to the gift he had given him.

It was just a simple little thing, a flower that he had managed to grow all by himself. Honestly, it was actually a pretty dull-looking green flower in a tiny, plain clay pot. Nowhere near the green thumb his master possessed, but he was still pretty proud of it. He had raised it from a seed meticulously, having placed it on his windowsill to gather sunlight and watered it daily, speaking gently to it like he was taught to. It took a lot of time, and the flower that grew might've disappointed anyone, but not Shigeo. He was so impressed, he decided to gift it to his master as a "thank you" for teaching him an invaluable skill.

And for once, Reigen had nothing to say.

Rather, he stared at the plant in his hands as though he'd just been handed a pile of gold. And he kept staring, eyes wide and mouth agape, silent for several minutes. Shigeo began to worry that maybe he'd done something wrong, and his master was so upset he was at a loss for words.

"Um… I can try again, Master. I'll do better next time," he wrung his hands nervously and turned his gaze downward, continuing quietly, "I hope you're not too mad at me-"

"Mad? ?" Reigen suddenly barked out, startling him and catching his attention immediately. Reigen placed the plant on his desk and took Shigeo by the shoulders, shaking him a little. "Mob, this is incredible! You would be AGHAST at how many people fail to grow even one small blade of grass, and just LOOK at this!" He picked up the plant again in one hand, the other still holding his shoulder. "Look at the vibrant green color! It's _healthy_ , is what it is! And see how tall the stem is standing? It's _strong_! Even the soil around it has some fantastic nutrients in it, from what I can see. It's no wonder it grew so beautifully!"

Shigeo was almost scared by this odd behavior. He was happy and proud the plant had grown, sure, but the tidal wave of praise was definitely not what he had been expecting.

"So… it's good, then?" he asked timidly.

"Good? It's great! Thank you for this, Mob! I should've had you growing plants AGES ago!"

The flower was placed firmly on the office windowsill next to a plastic sun-catching bobbing flower that Serizawa had given to him some time ago. It was enough to brighten Shigeo's spirits and inspire him to try growing all kinds of different plants, and perhaps even vegetables someday.


	21. He noticed the contrast more than before

When Ritsu opened his window to stop the incessant tapping, he could do nothing more than stare, utterly confused as to what he was seeing.

"Hey, Ritsu. I have a bunch of boring studying to do, so lemme in, already."

Shou floated just outside the window as per usual. What gave Ritsu pause, however, was Shou himself. He somehow had gotten a hold of a Salt Middle School uniform and appeared to be wearing a styled, dark-colored wig.

"...Shou, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Ritsu finally asked once he'd gotten over the initial flabbergasted feeling. Shou simply floated past him and sat on the bed, then used his powers to grab some books from the desk without having to get up. Ritsu stared at him for a moment as he read (or pretended to read, he wasn't quite sure) before moving to sit in his desk chair adjacent to him. He tried to focus on his homework, but something felt off and odd and just plain missing. Almost as though, even though he now had company, he was completely alone. After rereading the same passage four times without gleaning anything from it, he finally shoved his work to the far end of his desk and turned in his chair to face his friend.

"Are you gonna explain why you're pretending to be me for some reason?" he finally asked, irritated and at his wit's end. Shou glanced up calmly, then shut Ritsu's book and sat up.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Screw you!"  
He appeared to consider Ritsu for a minute before chuckling quietly to himself.

"Easy up there, _Kageyama-kun_ ~. I'm just doing an experiment," he finally replied, still as nonchalant as ever. If Ritsu was confused before, he was completely befuddled now.

"Experiment? What do you mean?" A new wave or irritation, albeit a small one, washed over him. "...What exactly are you trying to figure out?" He didn't receive a reply right away, as though the flame-haired esper was beating around the bush. He hummed a little bit until Ritsu pounded a fist against the desk. "Dammit, Shou!"

"Chill, dude! I just thought I'd… how do you say… 'walk a mile in your shoes'? I've actually been wearing this outfit all day."

"You WHAT?!"

Suddenly, Ritsu's mind was filled with irrational but completely justified thoughts. No one could possibly have seen Shou and thought it was him, right? What if he had committed some heinous crime, and now Ritsu was going to take the rap for it? The life he'd built for himself and worked so hard to achieve was now potentially squandered at the hands of his moronic best friend, and Ritsu could almost feel himself short-circuiting from the anxiety.

"I know what you're thinkin', and the answer to all of that is 'no'. No, nobody recognized me, and no, I didn't do anything 'bad'," he made air quotations with his hands on the last word, then leaned back on the bed, proud of his feats. Ritsu, on the other hand, was less than impressed.

"And you let me stress out over it for how long? Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Shou waved off the burning glare easily, far too used to his friend's judging eyes.

"You stressed for about a minute and a half. I dunno, it's kinda funny to watch, if you ask me."

He was going to kill him. The itching in the back of his mind told him to kill this stupid kid right here, right now. But he took a deep, calming breath and relaxed in his chair.

"Okay, so now it's the end of the day. The end of your experiment, hopefully. So what did you find out?"

Shou wasted no time answering him immediately.

"That you're incredibly boring? You're so studious, and you're a goody-two-shoes that can barely even _bend_ a rule!" He tucked his hands behind his head and laid back on the bed entirely. "I swear, how can you keep up a reputation like this? It's almost admirable. I can see the contrast between us now more than ever."

Ritsu was about to retort, but paused and thought over Shou's words again. In a sense, it appeared that Shou was offhandedly praising him for how different he was than him, while criticizing him at the same time. Shou's lifestyle, on the other hand, was definitely more carefree, but the lack of routine probably brought more tribulations than he'd thought. Ritsu probably wasn't giving him enough credit for everything he'd been through in comparison to his own upbringing. He was quiet a little longer before turning back to his homework and picking up his pen.

"Just take the stupid wig off, already. Black doesn't suit you."

"Can't, bro. It's dye."

He groaned as his face fell helplessly into his hands. It was probably going to take forever for his hair to go back to normal, but until then he was going to continue being shocked every time he saw him. Shou stood up and stretched, then headed to the open window.

"Well, I'd better get a move on! But hey, give your brother a message for me, will ya?"

"And what is that?" Ritsu responded, voice muffled in his hands. Shou grinned mischievously.

"Tell him I'll make sure to give his gakuran back before school next week!"

He only narrowly avoided being tackled out the window by Ritsu.


	22. Glowering was what she did best

There was not much to be said about the now-defunct (but still active) Telepathy Club. All of the members were a little strange in their own way, and it was obvious that each one had no clear direction as far as what they wanted to do with their lives in the long run. That wasn't to say they didn't ever think about it or didn't try, though.

"C'mon, President! Smile for us, won't you?" Saruta asked one day. Kijibayashi stood at the ready with a camera, but Tome wasn't having it.

"Why not explain to me again why you need my picture instead?" she replied, irritation rising the longer she was kept away from her video game, sadly stuck on the "pause" menu.

"Think about it! You're really pretty, couldn't you be a model?"

She scoffed at the idea. Her? A model?

"The better question is, did you hit your head on the way in here today? What is up with you guys?" Her pointed glare stayed firmly on them for a moment longer before she picked her game back up and resumed playing. Saruta and Kijibayashi exchanged a look, then sighed in defeat. Tome was, to no one's surprise, incredibly stubborn when it came to her opinions and ideas about things. If she said 'no', then there was likely no way to change her mind.

"President, look!"

Inukawa suddenly burst into the room, carrying with him an armload of flowers of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Presumably from running all the way to the club room from wherever he had just come from, he took a minute to catch his breath before speaking to his bewildered friends.

"A group of people outside the school yard were just… giving all of these flowers away to everybody! For free! So I grabbed as many as I could!"

"...Yes, I can see that," Tome, still somewhat shocked by the sight before her, paused her game again and placed it face down on the table. She tapped a finger to her chin, leaning back in her chair. "Could it be the Ikebana Club? They've got lots of club members, so I don't see why they'd need to promote it…."

"It doesn't matter! Aren't they beautiful, though?" Inukawa unceremoniously dropped them into Tome's lap… and hair and shoulders, and anywhere else they could land on or around her. Kijibayashi and Saruta gaped, unsure how their explosive club president would respond. But, as they had been expecting some sort of angry outburst, they were surprised when, after a moment of staring in awe at the flora, she smiled brightly, cradling a few yellow and blue ones close to her.

A dazzling smile was all they had asked for, but this rare and genuine smile was more than enough. Kijibayashi snapped a picture, and Tome glanced up at him with a scowl.

"I didn't give you permission to take a picture!" she cried out indignantly.

"But President, look! I was right, you could definitely be a model!" Saruta quickly stepped in, then motioned for Kijibayashi to turn the camera around so she could see the picture on the tiny screen. Even Tome, herself, was taken back by the genuine sweetness and happiness the photo exuded. Something so feminine, it almost made her want to puke, but at the same time she was proud to say that was definitely her in the picture. She huffed and put on her biggest frown, digging her video game out from under the piles of flowers now littering the table.

"Do whatever you want. But pretty smiles and flowers aren't gonna get us any closer to the extraterrestrials, you know."

Once the others had their backs turned, their attention still on the picture, though, she smiled softly and brushed a few flowers off of her shoulder. It wouldn't do to make them think she was going soft just because she had a lapse in her usual attitude for a second.

Glowering was what she did best, after all.


End file.
